June 2023
Dear Friends of First,
On Sunday, May 13th, we attended our son’s college graduation at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. One of the commencement speakers was a young man, picked by his fellow graduates, who gave a thought-provoking speech called: Have Faith, Everything Happens for the Best.
Andrew began his speech with comments and references to the experiences, memories, adversity, challenges and the obstacles that each and every student experienced personally throughout the last four years. He said everyone has experienced loss and low points. Some of the low points may have been a challenging family member, or the loss of a loved one. These low points can be overwhelming but how we react to these obstacles on the journey will determine the course of our future.
Andrew wasn’t too sure about what he wanted to study and what kind of career he wanted to have. One day he stumbled across a podcast by Suze Orman, the financial advisor. Orman said, “Have faith everything happens for the best...yes, everything happens for the best.” Orman explained, “We may not always understand why things happen to us but must have faith and trust that the things we experience are meant for us.” Andrew said when he first heard this, he thought, “Really, everything that happens is for the best?” He thought what a slap in the face. Think about all the losses we have all experienced in the last three years...and we are supposed to believe that everything that happens is for the best?
The speaker Andrew really struggled with this concept but the longer he thought about it, and reflected on how it relates to everything in life, Andrew realized that Suze was right. We have all experienced difficult things but yet if you believe this concept is true, your life will change dramatically.
If you believe things are happening to you, you lose all of your power and you take on the victim mentality because things seem out of your control. Instead, if you believe things happen for you, you realize everything plays a necessary role in your life journey. It places you as the central focus for these events, because they are so uniquely essential to your development and pathway in life. It reminds you that there is a greater sense of purpose, a destination you are meant to reach, and the only way to get there is by embracing your current situation.
Do you want things to happen to you, where you aren’t even considered in the grander decision, or that things happen for you? Whatever happens is the logical next step in your adventure? Change is inevitable – in fact, it is the only thing in life that we can count on, so we need to learn how to ride the wave of change. When you shift your mindset and understand that everything happens for you, you can be ready with open arms to receive the best in life.
In Christ,
Pastor Jim